Paul McGuigan's film is intelligent and well-made. Because it's very violent and because it's gangster genre, it is likely to be bracketed with the work of Tarantino and Guy Ritchie (`Lock, Stock' & `Snatch'). It owes little to either film-maker.
`Gangster No. 1' eschews the cartoonish and U.S.-market-oriented style of Guy Ritchie; there's none of the bogus London patois Ritchie uses, the entire cast doesn't use `oh-those-quaint-Brits' pseudonyms, and there's no contrived caper serving as plot.
Comparisons with Tarantino are equally moot: the heart of Tarantino's work is his dialogue, which snaps with sparkle and vim. Johnny Ferguson's script, by contrast, is basic, dirty; his characters' words are brutal, to the point, saying no more than needs to be said to establish place in the pack.
Spoilers ahead.
The film concerns the rise of Gangster [Malcolm McDowell] from a henchman of gangster Freddie Mays [David Thewlis] to pole position in his crime pond. This rise is depicted retrospectively, recounted by McDowell, who has been prompted to reflect on his past by the news that Mays is at the end of the 30 year jail sentence, which Gangster engineered so as to clear his path to the top. The young gangster of this reflection is played by Paul Bettany.
The three key actors each give sound performances. Bettany's job is to play the young ``amoral'' psychopath -- a role that has been done before, and often done by the actor portraying nothing; facial features that never move with `chilling' eyes in the middle. And Bettany does a portion of this. But we also hear an interior monologue -- his thoughts -- and those show a more complex individual. This, combined with shots where his mouth opens in a wide rictus and he emits a silent yell of mad rage, is relevant to the denouement of the film which -- to read other reviews on imdb -- has eluded some.
McDowell's again emulates the set facial features of the ``psychopath.'' But his emulation is different from Bettany's -- behind the older gangster's face is man who feels he has been cheated. He has got what the younger self wanted -- power, fear, wealth -- but it has not brought him the satisfaction he was sure of. He feels conned -- like Faust, but without the agency of Mephistophilis, he has the riches and none of the happiness.
Thewlis' role is that of the dangerous dandy; the slick young thug who dresses in sharp suits, who is coldly violent but mostly orchestrates rather than commits violence. He has the power Gangster wants -- and the contentment, too. We see this several times -- it is not just Mays' power Gangster wants -- it is his style -- the way he dresses, the way he behaves. And this eludes Gangster; he sees the style he wants -- but doesn't know how to emulate it [indeed being reduced at one point to wearing Mays' cast-off tie-pin] -- and he sees the unstylish life of his henchmen peers -- but doesn't know how to rise out of it. Knowing where he wants to flee and where he wants to arrive, he's stuck in limbo.
But the deeper source of his malcontent is Karen, a singer / club hostess ably played by Saffron Burrows. He is instantly captivated by her -- and instantly alienates her. Being a creature of violence he treats her [though only verbally] violently. He sees what he wants; and has no idea how to get it. But Freddie Mays knows how to get it -- and it's Freddie who ends up with Karen.
This is the key of the film. In due course Gangster engineers Mays' downfall -- he learns that another crime boss has set an ambush for Freddie, and keeps the matter quiet. Thus Freddie gets ambushed and nearly dies. Karen apparently dies too. Gangster watches this from a hidden vantage point; and watches Karen's her death with mingled pleasure and unconcern -- partly because he can't articulate his love, partly because if he can't have her he's glad to see her dead.
After the ambush he visits its orchestrator, villain Lennie Taylor [Jamie Forman], and slowly tortures him to death. He takes some pleasure in this -- out of a sense of revenging Karen's death, perhaps, for the only way his love can express itself is in violence -- yet it's not wholly clear how much pleasure he takes in it. Certainly, it's a very different scene from the torture spot in `Reservoir Dogs.' It is as if there is a finer part inside Gangster, which is glimpsed in his love for Karen and in the yells of silent rage, of something-trying-to-get-out. That side is here, too -- an inner disgust at himself.
Mays is jailed for this murder
[bigger spoilers below]
Gangster finds out that the released Mays is about to get married -- to Karen; Karen, who he thought was long dead.
He orders Mays to come and see him. Mays is now nothing like the dandy of his youth [though he's played by the same actor] -- he's weary, and the cockiness has long gone. He looks back on that past with contempt; but he's still got Karen.
This is a double blow for Gangster -- not only has he failed to emulate Mays, but striving for that emulation was pointless. Mays is unimpressed by Gangster. This first throws Gangster off balance and then into rage. Worse still is that Mays has bested him by ending up with Karen. And this is too much -- `Don't I deserve love?' Gangster asks. As Mays leaves, Gangster, out on the roof of his apartment, despairs; and throws himself off the edge.
So beneath all the crude language [which some imdb reviewers have grumbled about, perhaps thinking their villains to be polite] and violence lies a well-worked out tale -- and a love story at its heart.
Highly recommended.
0 out of 0 found this helpful.
Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink
Tell Your Friends